Outside Lies Magic: Regaining History and Awareness in Everyday Places

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John R. Stilgoe

Walker and Co., New York, 1999, 1998, English

Nonfiction, General

ISBN: 9780802775634

From the Publisher. A book about the acute observation of ordinary things, about becoming aware in everyday places, about seeing in utterly new ways, about enriching your life unexpectedly. For 21 years, John R. Stilgoe has developed and practiced the art of exploring the everyday world around us, where so much lies hidden just beneath the surface, offering uncommon knowledge if we but know what to look for. In this book, Stilgoe inspires us to become explorers on our own—on foot or on bicycle—and by so doing to reap the benefits of escaping, even temporarily, the traps of our programmed lives. From the electrical grid overhead to fences, malls, and main streets, Stilgoe offers a fresh understanding of the links and fractures in our society.

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Deborah Berke

On Deborah Berke’s Book List

Walk away from your desk, go outside, keep your eyes open and remember what you see and ask why it is that way. A great exhortation to all of us to be questioning observers.

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